Towards the end of the year, Jinan Mansion has a festive atmosphere, the bright red decorations of the streets and alleys reflect the white snow on the ground, the sound of gongs and drums can be heard from far and near, and children are running and playing in the snow.

Gao Xianning has been in Jinan Mansion for a while. The most he did was to haunt various banquets, contact his classmates and old friends, and make new friends in Shilin. Gao Xianning was a member of Shandong, and the deeds of fighting against the "Jingnan Army" in Jinan Mansion were very in line with Confucian loyalty and filial piety, although he was later forced to go out in the Yongle Dynasty, but he had already become a celebrity with an article. Now that he is the royal celebrity of the Wude Dynasty, there are naturally countless people who Shilin is willing to befriend him.

Today, he returned to the mansion drunk again, but saw a man in black wearing a hat standing on the eaves of the courtyard. Gao Xianning suddenly saw this person, and suddenly the wine also sobered up a little.

The servant of the house stepped forward and whispered, "This person carries the seal of the Jinyi Guard." The old slave told him to go into the house and wait, but he had to wait for his master outside. ”

Gao Xianning walked to the eaves, and the man in black lifted the hat to it, clasped his fists and saluted, calling him "Master Gao". Gao Xianning immediately recognized that this person was a subordinate of Du Erlang, the envoy of Beizhen, surnamed Chen, and he was a general. Mr. Chen has been in Shandong for a long time, and he has not only met Gao Xianning.

The people of the Jinyi Guard sometimes obeyed the dispatch of the court officials, including the generals who obeyed the orders of the generals in front of them; At this time, some of the Jinyi Guard lieutenants got the errand to assist so-and-so in dispatching.

"Mr. Chen, please." Gao Xianning said.

The two walked into the living room, and Gao Xianning immediately closed the door. Chen also took off the hat and put it on the side of the door, he was wearing tattered clothes, which was naturally completely different from the image of wearing an official uniform when he was in Beijing.

Mr. Chen said straightforwardly: "Recently, the brothers who went to Linqu County, Qingzhou Prefecture, to sit in the notebook, have collected some things. One of them, the leader of the local White Lotus Sect, known as the White Dragon, claimed to be a disciple of Maitreya Buddha. This man is good at demagoguery of the people, and he teaches a large number of people. Among them, the obsessed are obedient to their orders and do not hesitate to donate their own wealth. The white dragon not only used this to collect money, but also spread crooked reasoning, contrary to morality, and called the congregation of men and women mixed and called them sisters. ”

He continued: "Not long ago, a man surnamed Huang married in a local mountain village. On the night of the candles in the cave room, the white dragon actually entered the cave room and slept with the bride, but asked the bridegroom to wait outside the bed tent. The local villagers thought that the incident was immoral, so they reported it to the county government, but the matter seemed to have been suppressed. ”

Gao Xianning was taken aback and said, "This official has never heard of such a doctrine in the White Lotus Sect. ”

Chen Jiang clenched his fists and said: "As far as the last general knows, there is no such thing. However, nowadays, the White Lotus Sect is scattered and loose, and there are often some people who practice selfish interests in the name of missionary work. That white dragon should be for these people, in a remote place, under the pursuit of the cultists, they will do whatever they want, and it will become more and more absurd. Those who are obsessed with it may not be able to live with the heart of ordinary people. ”

Gao Xianning nodded and muttered, "If the White Lotus Sect does not have such a scourge, but is strict from top to bottom, and their words and deeds are combined, I am afraid that their strength will increase a hundred times." It is because of their omissions that they bring about their own destruction. ”

Mr. Chen said: "The tall man is reasonable. ”

Gao Xianning paced back and forth, thought for a long time, turned around and said, "You immediately go to Qingzhou Mansion to verify this matter." The official then went to the city. ”

Mr. Chen suddenly reminded: "The New Year is coming soon, why don't you go after the festival?" The last general's family is in Beijing, and there is nothing else to do at the end of the year, so you can go first. ”

"It's important to get down to business." Gao Xianning said.

"Yes." Mr. Chen answered, and then said goodbye and went out.

…… Chen put the general and his subordinates, a total of two people rode first. They went east to the capital city of Qingzhou, and then turned south to the county seat, where they met the captain of the Jinyi Guard, who was sitting in the county government. The three of them continued to the mountain village where the incident occurred.

They walked around the village and soon caught the attention of several local villagers. Two old women came to interrogate them, and asked them what they had come to do.

Mr. Chen said casually: "Two donors, do you believe in the cult?" It can drive away evil spirits, cure all kinds of diseases, and keep safe. ”

One of the old women holding a wooden basin shook her head and said, "We only believe in the White Lotus Sect. The other was suddenly annoyed, claiming that he was going to call someone and come to arrest Mr. Chen.

Mr. Chen hurriedly waved his hand and said kindly: "I have some good intentions, don't worry, auntie." Where is the White Lotus Cult better than the Cult? ”

The old woman who carried the basin was kinder, she thought for a while and said: "Others are not like you offspring, they know that our family is short of people, so they often come to help carry water and harvest wheat, and send some food for the New Year's holiday." He also told us to go to the temple to worship the Buddha, and to fast and eat. ”

Another woman said, "We all call each other sisters, and we have a good relationship." It's like a person who doesn't believe in the White Lotus Sect, look at your inconvenient legs and feet, you are verbose, and you don't say hello. The sisters in the temple do not hate the poor and love the rich, but only love each other. ”

Mr. Chen thought for a while and asked, "What do you know about the little daughter-in-law of the Huang family?" ”

Duanpen frowned and said, "Sister each other, what is so strange about Maitreya's disciple teaching the Dharma to the new lady?" Bailong's lady also got along with the men in the village. ”

Chen Jiang always listened and nodded silently.

Another old woman dragged her companion, and they took their things and went out into the village. Chen watched for a moment, then beckoned to his entourage and said, "There will be trouble in a while, let's leave this place immediately." ”

They returned to Fucheng the next day, and at this time Gao Xianning, the secretary of Dali Temple, also arrived, and was staying in an inn.

When Mr. Chen saw Gao Xianning, he saw a thin middle-aged scribe in the inn room, wearing a square scarf and a cloth robe. The scribe revealed his identity in his words, and it turned out to be Wang Zhai, the prefect of Qingzhou.

Gao Xianning sat on the chair, and his voice said: "Please ask the prefect of the king to send an official document, take it to the Linqu County Ya, and order the county order to send officials to arrest the 'white dragon' and bring it back to the case, and interrogate it according to the law." ”

Wang Zhai arched his hand and said: "Gao Siqing Mingjian, I am afraid it will be difficult to do it with just the county token ticket and a few official errands, and the 'White Dragon' will not be restrained." And the White Lotus Sect members in Qingzhou Mansion are not only active in one place, but many sect members echo each other, and if they don't pay attention to it, they may provoke a civil uprising. These situations have already been reported to the political envoys, so they did not dare to act rashly. ”

He paused for a moment, and then suggested: "In the south of Linqu County, there is the Muling Pass Patrol Division, if the county government summons a fast hand to go and then transfer the patrol division, it will be easier to catch the criminals." However, the lower officials still thought that before that, if they first played the military department and got the transfer order from the Qingzhou Mansion Guard, they would be well prepared and act again to ensure that nothing went wrong. ”

Gao Xianning nodded lightly and said, "This matter can be reported to the prefect of the government." But you do as I say, I'll help you bear it if something happens, is the prefect willing? ”

Wang Zhai was silent for a while, as if he was weighing something, and after a while, he finally gave up his hand and said, "The lower officials all listen to Gao Siqing's orders. ”

Gao Xianning said: "Please do it immediately." ”

After Wang Zhai agreed, he said politely: "Your Majesty, please settle a better place for Gao Siqing." ”

Gao Xianning said: "The guest house is very good, casual and convenient, without too many chores." ”

Only then did Wang Zhai bow: "Yes." The lower official retired. ”

After the prefect left, General Chen stepped forward to report: "There is really no difference in the matter. The last general found the lieutenant of the sitting, asked carefully in person, and took advantage of the time when the tall man was on the road, rode to the local area, and asked two villagers. At that time, the general was worried about extraneous branches, so he didn't explore much, but he learned from the village woman that this was indeed the case. ”

Gao Xianning nodded and said, "Very good." What is true is true, we can't just wronged people, lest it be self-defeating. ”

"Yes." Chen put the general road.

Mr. Chen also felt in his heart that the suggestion of the Wang Governor's Mansion just now might be the most reliable way. But he didn't talk much, just listened to Gao Xianning's meaning. This Gao Xianning often goes in and out of the palace, and has a close relationship with the saint, he said that if he can bear anything, then he will definitely be able to bear it, and Chen Jiang does not need to worry about it.

Within a few days, things turned out to be as expected by the prefect Wang, and the official was unprepared and couldn't take people at all. It is reported that the county magistrate wrote a cinnabar card ticket and sent a messenger to get people; When the officialdom arrived in the village, the signed cards and tickets were torn up on the spot, and then several officials were beaten by a group of people, the scene was very chaotic, one of the officers was accidentally killed, and the other few were slightly and seriously injured, and fled back to the county government in embarrassment. The county magistrate hurriedly sent fast horses to take the post road, and reported the urgent matter to the capital city on the same day.

Gao Xianning continued to give another unbelievable order. Through the prefect's palace, he also asked the county government to continue to take people, and wanted to arrest the main culprit who injured and killed the official messenger and put him in prison and punished him for several crimes.

This time the movement was even greater, and the county magistrate was ordered to respond with an emergency and a license ticket to be conscripted from the local area.

According to the general situation of the county government in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, ordinary county towns generally have no army at all; In case of major events such as the crossing of bandits, the county magistrate has the right to first mobilize and convene the local people to gather into an army, let the strong men prepare their own and receive the weapons stored in the county office, and then report to the county officials urgently. This kind of centaur is mainly composed of temporary people, there are archers, fast hands and other categories, probably issued some knives, guns, sticks, hunting bows and arrows and other weapons, no armor supply. Most of the time, they are almost a rabble, and they have no combat power at all, but they can still be used on the city wall to defend the county seat.

And because it was necessary to mobilize and gather people first, the battle was extremely large and took a long time. The White Lotus Sect has a lot of power in remote places, of course, it can be known early and prepared.

As expected, when the magistrate of Linqu County went with a large group of people, the key criminals of the "White Dragon Man" and a group of henchmen had long since disappeared. The county is surrounded by mountainous areas, and it is naturally difficult for officers and men to find people in a short period of time.

So the magistrate had to accept the people, because they were all people, and they were dismissed one after another within a few days. The magistrate of the county issued a document to post everywhere according to the order, and the white dragon was arrested everywhere in the county. Subsequently, the Qingzhou government ordered that all counties block the passes and make every effort to search for the criminal. Originally, in recent years, the political envoys of Shandong Province have been too safe and stable, at least on the surface, but now they have made a lot of noise.